sew * seam-rip * repeat

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7.07.2013

So, I made this jacket AGES ago. And I kept promising to post about it. Whoops. Well, better late than never.

Things I love:

I love how easy this coat was to sew up! It really went rather quickly, and the instructions were so easy to follow. Tasia did it again!

I love the fabric that I used :) I was a little worried about the fabric at first. I have always loved the print. I bought the fabric online, and I know what cotton canvas feels like, but I was still a little nervous when it came in the mail I kept thinking "oh man, is this going to make a good jacket? Is the fabric going to be right?" But after it all came together, it was so great! I love how vibrant the colors are, and the pink pops of cherries make me smile!

I changed a few things. I added pockets, although I should have made them on my muslin as well, because I didn't get the height of the pockets just right. I used the pocket pattern from the Peony and just stuck it right in the side seams.

I also couldn't quite find the right zipper length that I wanted, so to compensate, I didn't put the zipper all the way to the top of the collar. Instead, I added these FABULOUS buttons that came from my grandma's button stash that I inherited!

Aren't they freakin' amazing?!?!

Things I would change next time:

I wouldn't line the whole thing with shiny, slippery fabric. I would line only the sleeves with slippery fabric. I don't really love opening up the zipper and seeing the high gloss fabric peeping out at me. I think I would prefer a matte fabric.

I would sew in the waist elastic during the muslin phase. I didn't do this, I just drew on the line, and it looked great, and in the final project it is so close, but I would have dropped the elastic down about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

I would decrease the size of the hood. It is too tall on me! Haha, when I actually pull the hood out to wear, it is so tall that the front flops down over my eyes. I would also definitely not recommend using a slipper fabric to line the hood. Bad plan. It slips on my hair, so the hood has real trouble staying up. So either my hood is falling off my head or over my eyes. Ugh.

But, all those changes aside, I love this jacket! I wear it all the time! It is so cheery, and I get compliments on it all the time :)

Below are a few photos from our Engagement Session. Almost my entire outfit can be credited to Sewaholic patterns *grins* Minoru Jacket and Renfrew top. Two of my favorites combined! All photos were taken by Brandon Witzel. He took both our engagement and wedding photos! He did such an amazing job :) If you live in the Portland, Oregon or LA, California area, look him up!

7.02.2013

Have you heard that little truth about getting married, wanting to snuggle down in your new nest with your new love-bird, and eat yummy things; spending all your time oogling googly eyes at each other... and getting chubby. Yeah. It's wonderful. And it sucks. So, I haven't gotten fat, but I've definitely padded some areas a little more than I would like and it kills my drive to sew. Why would I want to spend so much time and energy, lovingly fitting, professionally finishing, and meticulously sewing a form fitting dress for a body that I'm not proud of. Super lame.

So, I've been avoiding sewing. And I've missed it so much!! A few things have fired my obsession for sewing again. One, I discovered Bloglovin' in lieu of Google Reader shutting down. This lovely blog following format allowed me to totally indulge forced me to catch up on blogs that I hadn't read in a while. This made me so uber jealous that I wasn't sewing beautiful things for myself that I immediately went to my pattern stash and fabric stash and said, "to hell with this feeling chubby business!" And made a skirt.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new skirt. I have a second version on my cutting table at the moment.

I was wearing the skirt, and my sister-in-law took some photos, and I thought to myself... not too bad :) But I would love to look better. I suppose that sewing awesome clothes for myself is a decent incentive for getting in shape. So again, I'm on the war path. I'm warring against my adipose cells. Healthy food, gym time, lots of water. We'll see how it goes. Good thoughts, prayers, and encouraging words accepted.

As for this blog. I love blogging. It makes me feel as though I can connect with sewing friends in a way that I'm not able to do in my face-to-face, everyday life. I also a little bit of an 'excitable follower'. I suppose what I mean by this is, I read this fantastic blogs like Sewaholic, Lladybird, and Oonaballoona, and I want to blog as well and as prolifically as they do! I get swept up in the awesomeness of posting, and comments, and wanting to be a well-known name in the sew blogging community. But I can't do that. A) I'm not that great of a writer. B) I don't really have a whole lot of time to do it. C) I have an awesome husband to spend time with...

So.... I am promising myself a few things. I promise to try and post on here enough to keep in touch with people, and share my makes. I also promise to spend more time actually enjoying sewing things, exercising, and spending my time with my hubs and my friends than I do trying to turn this little area in to a well-traveled, interweb, metropolis.

So there it is.

I'll try and be back soon :) I'll show you what I'm trying to make. I've missed you all.

10.14.2012

So, do you guys embroider? I seem to love all things crafty, but embroidery was always something I snubbed my nose at. I'm not sure why. Maybe I considered it to old fashioned, maybe I had only seen embroidery in designs that I didn't feel were appealing.

My grandmother had lots of embroidered pillows on get couch, and I think I never liked them when I was little because they weren't comfortable for me to curl up with.

Well, I have a lazy day sewing project. (You know, a project that I can pick up and sew on for five minutes every couple of days and its easy to get out and put away.) It's a quilt that I am slowly making squares and just enjoying the process rather than racing trying to get a project done so I have something fun to wear.

I have made a few quilts before and since I am taking my time, I thought it would be nice to try some new things and expand my skills a little.

As I was perusing Lauren from Lladybird's blog I started seeing some embroidery that I loved. I got to thinking that it might be fun to as some embroidery on some of my quilt squares, plus it would be a good excuse to buy some new craft supplieslearn something new.

So I started making a sampler. And I'm having so much fun! I never thought I would enjoy embroidery so much! (But then again, I never thought I would enjoy catch-stitching facings or hems, or inserting hand picked zippers either...)

So what about you? Do you enjoy embroidery? Do you have any crafts that you didn't think you liked and then found you secretly enjoy them?

9.27.2012

... And it's killing me! But, I have moved into an apartment, and my husband and I set up an office space, which he calls my sewing room (love him). I'm still settling in, trying to get used to a new job, figuring out the flow of our new life here together, but I'm really hoping to get to sewing again soon. I probably don't have a single person that even checks this ol' blog of mine anymore, but if I do still have friends out there, I haven't died. Promise. Cross your fingers that I can get some things sewn up soon!

4.16.2012

Does your life go in trends? I have totally lost my blogging mojo, but I will say that in it's brief absence I've gotten some good work done! Lets start from the beginning. Prior to going on my spring break vacation, I spent not much time sewing and much time getting ready a few posts to go up while I was gone, and then between work for a week, vacation for 10 days, and then work for another week, by the time I was finally home for a stretch I was craving (and I mean serious cravings... like black tie mouse cake when at olive garden cravings) sewing time! I hadn't actually gotten to sew anything in weeks!! So I've spent the subsequent two weeks working some more, and sewing! Glorious, glorious sewing!

So what does this mean for you, my friends? It means that I am attempting to re-start the blogging trend, and it also means that I have several fun new pieces to photograph and blog about for you!

The first piece that I have managed to get photographed that I want to show you, I lovingly refer to as my "anthro shirt". I don't know how any of you feel about it, but anthropologie is one of those stores that when I walk into it, I get a rush of wanting to spend way too much money. So when I get the chance to sew something that I think has the same feel, well, I get a little giddy!

My Anthro Top :)

Pretending like I have wings like the birds...

Sans Sweater

My Man's favorite photo

And without the belt

This is a pendrell blouse pattern with a modified neck shape, shortened waist, and some ease taken out.

3.28.2012

I am working on a Pendrell blouse with some fabric that I bought at fabric depot in Portland, OR last time I was home visiting my parents. The other afternoon while I was running the fabric through Elphaba (who was doing a marvelous job of seaming), I got to thinking about how luscious the fabric felt in my hands. It was soft, with just enough thickness in it to tell me it wasn't quilting cotton, just enough stretch to tell me that it was going to feel marvelous on my body, and just enough texture to make my fingers hum with excitment! Do you ever let yourself completely drown in the tactile experience of exploring your fabric? Does just the feel of a certain fabric make you dream up particular garments or projects or memories?

The fabric that has me gushing about texture

When I pre-washed it, I debated whether or not to use fabric softener in the wash. I ended up using the fabric softener, but it did get me to wondering if my online sewing cronies had any thoughts. Softener? No softener? What do you do with yours? I love using it to help my fabric become even softer right from the get-go, but I am curious to whether or not it is a bad idea, especially with a very first wash.

So what are your thoughts? Recommendations? Horror stories? Please, do share.